Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) reacts to the crowd after their victory over the Philadelphia Eagles during their NFL football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on October 20, 2013. (Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News)

PHILADELPHIA — The Cowboys have played every kind of game imaginable in the season’s first seven weeks. On Sunday, they won an unimaginable game and, as a result, they are kings of the NFC East.

Admittedly, no rewards are handed out for leading a division after seven games. The prestige once attached to the NFC East has disappeared. But none of that matters right now.

There were 18 punts at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday — nine from each team — and, yes, the Cowboys technically lost the punting battle. But the few big plays made were almost entirely theirs as the Cowboys scored a strange 17-3 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to win back-to-back games for the first time in 2013.

With new coach Chip Kelly having arrived from Oregon, the Eagles are supposed to embody the future of the National Football League. In this case, the revolution will be televised, but no one in Philadelphia wanted to watch what was on display Sunday.

The Eagles were leading the NFL in rushing and scoring 27 points per game, but the Cowboys held LeSean McCoy in check (55 yards rushing, only 12 at halftime) and kept the Eagles out of the end zone all day.

Dallas frustrated Nick Foles, sacking him three times and knocking him out of the game before intercepting rookie Matt Barkley three times to seal the win.

“It’s a testament to how these guys practice each day,” quarterback Tony Romo said of the Dallas defense. “They would have almost won that game by themselves, and I don’t know if that’s happened in my career where we’re just able to lean on them. If you’re going to do stuff in January, you’re going to need to lean on them at different times.”

Yes. Cowboys football in January. Someone had to say it.

Except for strange scheduling quirks that occasionally push the regular season past New Year’s Day, we haven’t seen a lot of Cowboys games in January the last 15 years. If it’s premature to start contemplating matchups or saving to afford those AT&T Stadium playoff tickets, there’s nothing wrong with saying this: The Cowboys are the best the NFC East has to offer.

Dallas leads the Eagles by one game, Washington by 11/2. New York is back there among the league’s discards at 0-6, so don’t waste time considering the Giants’ near future.

The Cowboys are 3-0 in the division and they are undefeated in the NFC. It’s clearly the weaker of the two conferences this season but, like the East, you play the hand you’re dealt and let others worry about the quality of your opponents.

It was just two years ago that a 9-7 Giants team won the division and the Super Bowl. Three years before that, Arizona won the weakest division in the NFL at 9-7 and came within seconds of winning a Super Bowl.

I’m not trying to get ahead of things here and suggest the Cowboys are bound for anything Super. Even their first NFC Championship Game in 18 seasons seems far-fetched until more evidence comes in on their behalf.

Seattle (6-1) and San Francisco (5-2) remain the class of the conference, and New Orleans (5-1) appears determined to join that discussion. Green Bay moved to 4-2

Sunday, so the Cowboys may be in first place, but they are actually tied for the fifth-best record in the weaker of the two conferences — in case you need a quick reality check here.

Still, the Cowboys played the AFC’s two unbeatens and lost by a total of four points.

We know this team can score — Dallas and Chicago are the NFC’s only teams with 200 or more points — but holding an opponent to three points was something new.

A fluke or sign of things to come?

I keep thinking this front four can’t handle the injury load — this was the first NFL game that DeMarcus Ware has missed — and yet the unit was dominant Sunday.

Regardless, the Cowboys have played just one close game in the division and that was the season opener before the Giants really knew the trouble they were facing.

“You’re really getting some legs up on everybody when you win all your division games,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

Biggest fish in a small pond?

Based on where these Cowboys have been, they’ll take that and be grateful for it.

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.